The Way That We Are
by CaptainOats2TheRescue
Summary: SS. Seth has it all but finds himself wanting more.


The More things change…

A cool breeze swept across the sky, an excellent cap to what appeared to be another perfect night for the residents of the exclusive community in Newport Beach. The weather. The beach. Everything seemed just a little brighter for the privileged people who were lucky enough to call this community home. At least, from afar.

As is true with most things in life, nothing is as it seems and sometimes all it takes is a little digging to uncover the ugly truth we desperately attempt to hide.

Another Friday night was drawing to a close at yet another "look what I have" party hosted by someone Seth Cohen simply couldn't remember the name of. This time it happened to be a car dealership owner's son throwing the bash, he could gather that much from the dozen or so sports cars with Richards Motors adorning them. The party itself actually wasn't that bad; there were plenty of women and the in house DJ was seemingly hooked in to Seth's iPod playing all of his favorite tunes. However, what made this party blend into the rest he had ever been to was the way it was ending: sitting alone out by the fire pit wishing the blaze could consume him along with it.

Once again he managed to piss his girlfriend off by trying to be the voice of reason, or more specifically the voice of his toilet which she'd be vomiting in later, and urge her to put the bottle down. He lost, of course, and they yelled at one another until she returned to the kitchen for shots, leaving him surrounded in laughter. It never really failed to occur, yet he amazingly always seemed to be surprised every time it happened. They fought. They yelled. Then they ended up back at his house. That was how these things usually went.

"I give you credit man," an approaching voice called and sat down next to him at the pit offering a beer. It was Luke Ward. "If that was me I sure wouldn't be taking this shit." Seth grabbed the beer, snapped the cap off and took a heavy swig.

"You have two eyes don't you? No way you would fuck it up with a girl her." Luke nodded and laughed, silence quickly taking over. They were seated in such a way that they could see all the action out on the back porch of the beach house, their backs to the ocean.

"She sure has been hitting it pretty hard this summer though, huh?" Luke broke the silence as the image of Anna fumbling down the stairs with two guys accompanying her could be seen from the fire pit.

"No different than anyone else here, Luke." He snorted back, but they both knew he was lying. Seth still liked to pretend that they were the perfect couple and there were no issues with them at all and everything was roses. But it wasn't. Not by a long shot. "About time he made his appearance." Seth's voice interrupted the brief awkward silence and he motioned towards one of the guys aiding Anna back toward the beer pong table. Ryan Atwood was up to his usual tricks, and Seth couldn't help but roll his eyes. He actually felt sorry for the guy, even though his image always raised a fire in him.

"Want me to go have a word?" Luke offered through laughter though he was completely serious. He was always down for a good fight to go along with the buzz. Seth chuckled and shook his head.

"I actually like it when he makes his move. It makes it that more enjoyable when I swoop in for the kill." The two friends shared another laugh, Luke feeling the slightest bit discouraged that he couldn't go create a problem.

"You know Holly brought some of that good stuff that her brother sells," Seth immediately knew where this conversation was headed and was already shaking his head. "Alright, alright, just thought I'd ask. I'll be back in a bit with some more fuel for 'ya." He motioned to the beer and Seth nodded, with Luke rising from the sand and retreating back to the house. Seth watched as he approached a blonde and wrapped his arm around her for company. He smiled at his friend, good old Luke. They had been friends ever since he could remember and he was grateful to call him his one true friend. Everyone else just followed him around for the publicity and laughed at his jokes wearing fake smiles.

While being the son of Sandy and Kirsten Cohen certainly had its perks, it also came with a casting shadow that he sometimes felt suffocated in. He was basically sworn into spotlight the moment he was born to the go-to celebrity lawyer and the daughter of one of the biggest architecture firms in the country. Those credentials alone were among the biggest profiles that Newport Beach boasted to the rest of the world. Along the way, he managed to become a pretty decent basketball player and essentially had a ticket into any girl's pants if he desired so. Sometimes he wondered why he couldn't just shut up and be happy with the perfection that was evident he had.

"Is it alright if I join you?" he was distracted from his thoughts by a small brunette girl standing on the other side of the fire. He nodded his head absentmindedly and returned to his thoughts, and she sat down and tucked her knees in close to her body. "Surprised to find you out here by yourself."

"I'm sorry but who are you?" He felt a pang of guilt rush through him, but disappeared as soon as he remembered he was bothered by this girl's presence. The girl blushed to herself and he could see her cheeks flare up over the fire.

"I-I'm Summer, but it's not really important." He nodded his head at the answer and returned his gaze to the fire. Anna's drinking started around the time he started seeing Marissa Cooper, which was shortly after New Year's. He didn't feel anything for the girl, it was a completely physical fling however it acted as his official entry into this vicious game he and Anna had been playing since last summer. He knew Anna cheated on him, and it bothered him knowing that one of his "friends" was the one she had been seeing. One thing led to another at the Year End Ball, and next thing he knew he was in bed with Marissa. He figured that was the beginning of the slow, painful hatred that had developed between the two of them. Marissa still called him all the time, and sometimes he would answer and find himself at her house late at night.

"Do you ever find yourself alone, Summer? So utterly alone even in the presence of all these people." He could feel the girl's eyes staring at him through the fire, but he kept his gaze on the burning logs. He was lost in his thoughts.

"You're kidding me right? You're Seth Cohen." She laughed almost mockingly and shook her head. When she did not get any response from him, the giggling stopped. "We all feel like that sometimes." She wanted to add more, but was fearful of what to say next. She had been picturing this moment in her head for as long as she could remember but now that it was here she felt it slipping away. He let out a heavy sigh and rose from the sand, brushing off his pants. "I feel like that all the time and that's with not even a third of the people that you have around you." She lowered her eyes and was playing with the sand at her feet.

"How do you deal with it?" He looked down at her with impatience, not acknowledging the girl's comment. He had started to leave the fire but returned so that he was now standing beside the girl.

"Well, I actually don't mind it. I look around at all these people and I say 'Give me loneliness'." She gazed over at the beach house where loud music and cheers could be heard. Seth nodded in understanding, smiling a bit.

"There are some real winners out there, huh?" he muttered under his breath as he also turned to view the house. Summer had lifted herself from the sand to stand beside him and was laughing at his remark. "So, what's your story Summer? Are you new here?" He turned to view the small girl and eyed her from head to toe. He was impressed, and she looked pretty cute. She stood before him in simple attire, a heavy maroon sweater and jean shorts with her hair tied up in a ponytail. Such a simple look, but he could certainly see it catching some eyes around here.

"Actually I've lived here all my life. Well, not here exactly..." Seth's eyes returned to hers and he could see the same flush of red cover her face. He shifted on his spot in the sand awkwardly. "I live out in Chino. I was accepted to Harbor this year as an exceptional student, or whatever they're calling their charity acceptances these days." He couldn't help but laugh, and she glared back at him.

"I'm sorry that's just..." he cut himself off and was watching a figure he knew all too well approaching from the beach house. It was about that time for this to happen, he thought and smiled. It really was all too predictable; the minute he chatted with some girl that wasn't her she always broke in looking to raise a storm. "-Look, Summer, you seem like a nice enough girl..." She smiled at him. "And I suggest that if you don't want to wake up with a bunch of bruises tomorrow you should get outta' here." She stepped away for him in shock, but then she saw what was behind him in the distance. He smirked back in the fire's direction then started off toward Anna before she could get another word in. He met Anna halfway and wrapped his arm around her waist before she could maneuver around him and tear into the brunette at the fire.

"Who the hell is that"

"Let go of me!"

"Seth, seriously fuck off!"

He would pick her up and lift her every few feet to get her further away from the fire and closer to the party. She would scream and flail her arms and legs in an attempt to spring free, but he held a firm grip. He managed to guide her back to the bottom of the stairwell where he found Luke chatting with a few girls. He rolled his eyes as he joined his friend, with Anna still in his arms and cursing at him. Luke offered to get a game of flip cup going, sensing the problem currently at hand, to which Seth willingly accepted. Luke retreated into the house with his two girls while Seth remained at the stairwell with Anna.

"Why do you always do this Anna?" He finally released her but stood between her and the beach. He leaned against the rail and crossed his arms, choosing his feet as a better place to look than her.

"Because you're a cheating piece of shit, that's why. Now move I'm going to go talk to that whore." Seth laughed and jumped back in the way as she smacked at his chest. He didn't take the bait of that cheating line that she threw out there either; he just wasn't in the mood to get into it with her.

"You know that's not true..." He lowered his eyes at her in his mock seductive look that always got her to smile. It didn't fail him as she couldn't help herself and buried her head to his chest in a heap and he began to brush her hair as she pouted. "What you say we go in there and show 'em how it's done?" He kissed her on the head and raised her chin so she could see him. She grinned and planted a kiss on his lips, and started up the stairs. He gave her a smack on the butt and winked at her when she turned, causing her to squeal for a moment then giggle.

He paused there and the smile on his lips slowly faded. He reached for a cup sitting on the counter beside him, lifted it to his mouth and polished it off, tossing it to the side and swishing whatever its contents was around in his mouth. The Seth Cohen iPod songs were clearly over as the DJ was now playing some god awful techno. He watched the kids at the top of the stairs dancing around, hollering, and having a great time without a care in the world. Tomorrow, they would all return to the reality that summer was coming to an end and school would be starting up along with all the responsibilities that it entailed.

"Are we playing or what?" Anna's voice startled him and she smirked down at from the top of the stairs. He sighed and gulped down the remainder of his drink, and started up the stairs to join her. He wrapped an arm around her waist and she rested her head on his shoulder. For tonight they were happy again. They made their way inside and shut the door, disappearing back into whatever the party scene had to offer them and without one look back to the fire with the small brunette cuddled around it.

**This is my first chapter in a long time. Kinda bummed that I have a lot of unfinished stories on here. Don't know if I'll ever get around to finishing them unfortunately.**

**Anyways, I hope you enjoy this one and I plan on updating a bit more this summer.**


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